Zero no Tsukaima
Zero's Familiar

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This manga is a must for all the tsundere fans out there. The characters are incredibly cute making for story setups that will have you smiling throughout the entire read. The story itself is deeper than most comedy harem mangas and will leave the reader satisfied and yearning for the sequel series which started just this year. Overall, a funny and interesting tale.

It was a fun manga for the most part with some nice moments. My problems are twofold: Firstly I wish the main cast were either 2-3 years older than they are, or were not sexualized as much. Secondly I was super disappointed in the ending. The final confrontation felt very limp and unimpactful, I think this is due to the brevity of the final confrontation between Saito, Louise, and Wards with it being only 1 attack before an insta kill nuke spell is used. The other main problem with the ending confrontation is the "Emperor". They talked him up as a powerful void magic user, ... just for him to die off panel because he was on the boat that Louise wished away.

In short: it's a fun popcorn manga with some good moments and a flaccid ending.

Overall, Zero no Tsukaima was quite disappointing. I had first found it when I was reading another manga called Mahou Sensei Negima, which is a similar genre, and that I enjoyed quite a bit. I even re-read it several times. I don't really care for the ecchi and harem, and I generally skip parts in manga that contains those, but I wanted a manga that had some good action scenes and some comedy that can be appreciated well. Romance is not my main concern, and I do not care for romance stories very much, but if it is done well, then the romance can make ... the story more interesting. I also desired some fantastical elements to be included, so Mahou Sensei Negima was the perfect choice. Zero no Tsukaima is similar to what I wanted to read, but it does not compare to the excellent example I read before.

Story - 4 - The story started out somewhat interesting, but it was far too disappointing. At first, the introduction of Louise and Saito, then all of the silly romantic comedy after that was somewhat entertaining to read. But a little later, when Viscount Vardes reveals his true goals, I cracked up in hysterics and pretended to choke in disgust. "First, I will steal the woman, then I will obtain the letter, then I will kill the prince and rule the world!" Are you serious? That's the most childish storyline I have ever seen in a manga. I'm afraid I couldn't write that without a spoiler, sorry. I just overall felt that the story was weak and poorly developed.

Art - 6 - I'll get to the point here; the chibi-ish art in the manga sort of supported the overall silly romantic comedy feel, so I can say that was one of the manga's redeeming values.

Characters - 3 - The character development was poor in the story, taking anime archetypes straight out of the supply bin. Tsundere and a typical anime hero for the main characters, and a typical womanly character, a quiet bookworm, and an annoying rich boy. I was barely able to keep my respect for any of the characters, sans Miyazaki Nodoka (Siesta, I mean), for she was simply a modest, cheerful, respectable person.

Enjoyment - 4 - Started out enjoyable, but turned into childish crap.

Overall - 4 - The story was childish, the characters were underdeveloped and mainstream, and the art was barely redeeming, being crushed under the others. The magical influences in the story seemed to be insignificant and unelaborated. Everything failed to impress me here. I would definitely not read this. If you want a comedy/romance/ecchi/harem/action/magic mang/anime, then go for Mahou Sensei Negima or Mx0.